Anchor weighing and casting mechanism



Jan. 21, 1930. F. SCHAUMAN ANCHOR WEIGHING AND CASTING MECHANISM Filed Oct. 7, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fran r idea ware h 'ATT RNEY Jan. 21, 1930. F. SCHAUMAN ANCHOR WEIGHING AND CASTING MECHANISM Filed Oct. 7. 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Jan. 21 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FRANK SCI-IAUMAN, OF: NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO AUTOMATIC ANCHOR-CONTROL CORPORATION, OF NEW YORK, N, Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK ANCHOR WEIGHING AND CASTING MECHANISM Application filed October 7, 1927.

casting ships anchors which will occupy-comparatively little room or space upon the deck of the vessel and by means of which the anchor may be quickly weighed and supported in proper position without liability of injury to the mechanism, and with a minimum of manual labor.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a mechanism of the above character, having a. horizontally traveling carriage for the anchor in combination with the anchor lifting means and means for actuating the same including parts mounted upon said carriage and movable with respect thereto whereby the anchor when it is lifted or weighed will be horizontally positioned on said carriage.

It is also another detail object of the invention to provide a guard means for removing sea weed which may be collected by the anchor to prevent the same from inter fering with the proper operation of the mechanism, and means for maintaining said guard at all times in a horizontally projecting relation to the forward end of the anchor carriage.

It is also one of the further objects of the invention to provide means for automatically locking the end of the anchor shaft to the carriage and fixedly holding the same in position with respect thereto and the deck of the vessel.

WVith the above and other objects in View, the invention consists in the improved anchor casting and weighing mechanism and in the form, proportion and relative arrangement of the several parts thereof as will be hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and subsequently incorporated in the subjoin'ed claims.

In the drawings, wherein I have illustrated one simple and practical embodiment of the invention, and in which similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views,

Figure 1 is a side elevation, certain parts Serial No. 224,563.

being broken away and shown in section, and illustrating the position of the essential parts of the mechanism relative to the vessel in full lines when the anchor is being cast or weighed, and said parts and the anchor being shown in dotted lines after being weighed and in its final position upon the deck of the vessel;

Fig. 2 is a front end elevation of the mechanism;

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken substantially on the line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 44: of Fig. 2, and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail transverse section taken substantially on the line 55 of Fig. 1.

In the embodiment of the invention selected for purposes of illustration, there is provided a guideway which is rigidly secured upon the deck of the vessel. As herein shown this guideway is in the form of a heavy metal channel member having the base wall 5 and the upstanding side walls 6, each of which is provided at its upper edge with an inwardly projecting longitudinally extending guide flange 7. Vithin this guideway the horizontally traveling carriage generally indicated at 8 is mounted. This carriage, is also of gen eral channel shaped form, and the base wall thereof is centrally provided with a longitudinally extending upwardly projecting section 9 of inverted U-shape. The side walls 10 of the carriage are each provided upon their upper edges with inwardly projecting flange 11 which are positioned in the plane of the flanges 7. Upon the outer sides of the carriage walls 10 at suitably spaced points the rollers 12 are journalled to travel upon the base wall 5 of the guideway and upon the under sides of the flanges At each side of the central portion 9 of the carriage on the forward end thereof the longitudinally extending toothed racks 13 are rigidly secured to the bottom wall of said carriage.

Upon each side of the central part 9 of the carriage 8 the relatively movable members 141 are positioned, each of said members being of U-shaped form and including the inner and outer vertical walls 15 and 16 respectively, integrally connected at their lower ends. The forward end portions of these inner and outer walls are relatively wide, the narrow rearwardly extending portions 17 thereof lying substantially entirely between the opposite side walls of the carriage 8. Each of the inner walls of the members 14 is provided at its forward end with a hook-shaped extension 18 having a downwardly opening slot 19. Adjacent to this slot and in concentric relation therewith, a rotatable anchor chain guide 20 is journalled upon the transverse pin or shaft 21 fixed in the side plates or walls 15 of the members 14. This member 20 is centrally provided with an annular groove indicated at to receive the anchor chain, and at its opposite ends adjacent to the plates 15 is provided with the discs or flanges Each of these discs is formed with a suitably shaped notch or recess 24 which is adapted to receive the metal loop L pivotally attached to the end of the anchor shaft A and with which the anchor chain C is connected. In spaced relation to these recesses 24, each disc 23 is providedon its periphery with a tangentially projecting latch finger 25.

Rearwardly of the fixed pin or shaft 21, a shaft 26 is journalled to rotate in suitable hearings in the inner walls 15 of the members 14, and upon each end of said shaft outwardly of the walls 15, the large gear wheels 27 are keyed or otherwise fixed and are 111 mesh with the teeth of the respective rack bars 13. There is also fixed upon each end of the shaft 26 outwardly of the gears 27 a radially projecting arm 28. The purpose of these arms will be hereinafter explained.

Below the shaft 26 and upon the inner side of each of the walls 15 a latch dog 29 is pivotally mounted as at 30, said dog extending upwardly and rearwardly around the shaft 26 and projecting forwardly above said shaft and terminating in an angularly pro ecting lug or shoulder 31 which is adapted to enact with the latch finger on one of the discs The lower end of each of the dogs 29 is also formed with a short rearwardlv projecting arm positioned above the central part 9 of the carriage. Each of these arms has a triangular shaped lug 33 formed on one side thereof which is adapted to coact with oppositely beveled faces of a similar triangular shaped lug 35 on the bracket elements 84 which are suitably fixed to the top Wall of the carriage part 9 whereby the latch dogs will be rocked upon their pivots 30 in the relative movement of the members 14 to disengage the lugs or shoulders 31 of said dogs from the latch fingers 25.

Upon the outer side of each of the walls 16 rollers 36 are journalled to engage the under sides of the guide flanges 11 on the carriage 8 and upon each of the inner walls 15 of the members 14 similar rollers 37 are journalled the base wall 5 of the guidewav.

to travel upon the upper surface of the carriage part 9.

In the top wall of the part 1) of the carriage adjacent its forward end an opening is provided as at 38 to receive a guide sheave 39 'for a wire rope or cable 40, one end of which is suitably attached above the part 9 of the carriage to the rear ends of the narrow extol sions 17 of the inner walls 15 of members 14, as indicated at 41. From the guide sheave 39, the cable 40 extends reaiwvardly to a second guide sheave 42 mounted upon the under side of the top wall of the carriage part 9, and then forwardly from this sheave around the guide sheave 43 mounted upon the base wall 5 of the fixed guideway. From the latter sheave, the cable extends rearwardly through the guideway and is wound upon a suitable drum (not shown).

Upon the rear end of one of the side walls 10 of the carriage 8 the two longitudinally spaced oppositely inclined pawls 44 and 45 respectively, are pivotally mounted adjacent one of their ends as at 46 and 47 and extend downwardly through suitable openings in the bottom wall of the carriage to ride freely upon The rear end of pawl 44 is adapted to cooperate with a stop lug 48 on said base wall of the guideway to prevent the rearward movement of the carriage 8 from the position shown in Fig. 1. The forward upper end of this pawl 44 above its pivot 46 has a curved or convex upper edge. The extension 17 of the outer side wall 16 of one of the members 14 is provided in its lower edge and at its rear end with a notch or recess 49 to receive the upper end of the pawl 45. Shortly before the pawl engages in this recess, the end of the extension 17 strikes the upper curved end of pawl 44 and rocks the same on its pivot to lift the lower end thereof above the stop lug 48. The base wall 5 of the guideway is further provided in spaced relation to the lug 48 with a projection 50 which is adapted to coact with a 'cam surface on the lower end of pawl 45 to disengage the upper end of said pawl from the recess 49.

The base wall 5 of the guidcway is additionally provided in suitably spaced relation to the projection 50 with the stop lug 51 with which the lug on the botton'l wall of the carriage 8 is adapted to contact to positively limit the forward movement of said carriage.

It will be understood of course that the anchor chain C is connected with a suitable Windlass. and in lifting or weighing the anchor by the operation of the Windlass, when the anchor reaches the position shown in full lines in Fig. 1 of the drawings. I provide means for automatically lifting and supporting the anchor for moy ement to a horizontal position upon the traveling carriage 8. As herein shown. this means for lifting the anchor includes the two parallel lever members 53 each having a relatively short angularly bent end portion 54, the extremities of which are connected by a cross bar or rod The other end of each of these lever members is provided with a longitudinally extending slot 56 which loosely receives a stud or pin 57 fixed in the end of one of the arms 28 secured upon the shaft 26. The outer side wall 16 of each of the members 14 is provided at its lower forward edge with the gear or cog teeth 58 which are in meshing engagement with the 'ears 59 journalled upon studs or trunnions suitably fixed in the levers 53. These gears 59 in turn mesh with gears 60 fixed upon pivot studs 61 secured or integrally formed with the ends of a U-shaped bar 62 and journalled for free rotation in the lever members The intermediate portion of the U-shaped bar 62 is singularly bent and extends substantially at right angles to the longer side portions of said bar as indi cated at 63 to thereby position the transverse connecting portion of said U-shaped connecting bar in laterally spaced relation from the longer arms of said bar. This U-shaped bar 62 constitutes a guard member which prevents sea weed collecting upon the anchor as it is drawn up from accumulating upon the gearing and other parts of the operating mechanism and thereby interfering with the proper operation thereof.

From the above description of the mechanism, it will be understood that normally, when the anchor is supported upon the deck of the vessel in the dotted line position shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, no part of the carriage 8 or of the relatively movable members 14 mounted thereon projects beyond the bow of the vessel. In this position of the parts, the locking pawl 45 is engaged in the notch 4:9, and the pawls 44 and 45 on the carriage 8 are positioned rearwardly in spaced relation from the lug 48. In the casting of the anchor the cable 40 is wound upon the drum which may be operated either by hand or by a suit-able motor and since the members 14 are locked to the carriage 8 by the pawl 45, said members and the carriage will be moved as a unit along the guideway and projected forwardly until the stop lug 52 on the carriage strikes the stop 51 on the bottom wall of the guideway. Atapproximately the same time, the lower end of pawl 45 strikes the projection 50, thereby disengaging the upper end of the pawl from the notch 49 and releasing the meu'ibers 14. Thus, in the continued winding of the cable 40 on the drum, the cable is drawn around the guide pulleys 43, 42 and 39 and thereby imparts an independent horizontal movement to the members 14, projecting the same forwardly beyond the end of the carriage which extends beyond the bow of the vessel. In this movement of the members 14, the anchor is of course, moved therewith and is supported by the transverse connecting rod between the lever members 53. The gears 27 engaging the teeth of the rack bars 13 causes rotation of the shaft 26 and the arms 28 are moved from a rearwardly extending position with respect to the shaft upwardly and forwardly. arms, the studs or pins 57 in the ends thereof slide freely in the slots 56 of the lever members '53 and said lever members are swung about the pivot studs (51 on the ends of the U-shaped bar 62, thus moving the angular end portions and the connecting b between said levers downwardly and permitting the anchor to drop from the horizontal position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1 to the vertical position shown in full lines. In this movement of the levers 53, the 60 and 59 move around the gears 58 and also rotate relative to each other in opposite directions to maintain and support the U-shaped bar 62 always in a forwardly extending horizontal position with relation to the carriage 8. As the members 14 approach the forward limit of their independent horizontal movement, the inclined faces of the lugs 33 on the latch dogs 29 engages the opposed inclined faces of the lugs 35 on the carriage, thereby tripping or rocking the pivoted dogs 29 to disengage the lugs or shoulders 31 thereof from the lingers 25 of the locking dogs 23, thus releasing these discs and disengaging the same from the ring or loop L on the end of the an chor shaft. Therefore, the anchor will immediately drop by gravity. This independent forward movement of the members It limited by the stop lugs 64 at the lower edges of the inner walls 15 of said members coming into engagement with the lugs 65 projecting from the side walls of the part 9 of the car'- riage.

hen it is desired to weigh the anchor, the Windlass is operated so that the anchor is lifted or raised by the pull of the chain C. From reference to Fig. 4 of the drawings, it will be noted that the front sections of the discs 23 in advance of the shaft 21 are relatively wide so that by the action of gravity the locking discs remain substantially in the position illustrated, against the tendency of the chain to rotate the same by frictional contact of the annular groove 22. Thus, when the anchor is lifted to substantially the position shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, the ring or loop L thereof will enter the recesses 24 of the disc 23 and engage the forward edges thereof, thus imparting an anti-clockwise motion to the member 22, the intermediate part of the ring or loop entering the slots 19 and the projecting hooks 18 of the plates 15 engaging through said loop while the rear edges of the recesses 24 bear against the central portion of the loop and retain the same in said slots. In this movement of the loop L into the slots 23, under the pull of the anchor chain, the members 14 are also moved rear- During such movement of the wardly on the carriage, the lugs 33 on the dogs 29 passing to the rear of the lugs 25. The fingers 25 on the discs 23 then move he hind the lugs 31 on the latch dogs as the loop L is drawn into the upper ends of the slots 19, said dogs returning to their normal positions by gravity, and thus latching the discs 23 against reverse rotation under the weight of the anchor.

It will be further understood that as the members 14 are thus moved rearwardly, the gears 27 tracking upon the respective racks 13 rotate the shaft 26 to move the arms 28 upwardly and rearwardly, thus swinging the connected levers 53 and bringing the connecting bar or rod into engagement with the flukes of the anchor head and finally into contact with the anchor shaft, thereby lifting the anchor from the vertical to a horizontal position until the anchor shaft is positioned within the angular bight portion of the U-shaped bar 62 and is disposed in supported position upon the carriage 8 and in substantially parallel relation thereto. At the end of this independent rearward travel of the members 14, the dog 46 is released from engagement with the stop 48 and dog 45 is engaged in the notch 49 of one of the members 14 as above explained. Thereafter, under the continued winding of the anchor chain upon the Windlass, the carriage 8, the members 14 and the anchor are all moved as a unit with respect to the guideway until the parts are disposed substantially in the dotted line position shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings.

Vhen the anchor is thus raised and positioned on the deck of the vessel, since the end of the anchor shaft is locked to the members 14 by means of the discs 23 and the anchor shaft is engaged by the intermediate part of the U-shaped bar 62, it will be apparent that the anchor is ery securely held or confined against lateral or longitudinal shifting movement. Also, as the anchor is thus raised or lifted and moved to a horizontal position upon the deck, it will be seen that the U- shaped bar (52 acts to dislodge sea weed or other debris which may be collected by the anchor and prevent the same from clogging the relatively movable parts of the mechanism mounted upon the members 14, thereby insuring the positive and reliable performance of the functions of this mechanism.

From the foregoing description considered in connection with the accompanying drawing, the construction and arrangement of the several parts of my improved anchor casting and weighing mechanism and the various advantages thereof will be fully understood. t will be seen that when the anchor is in its normal position on the deck of the vessel, all parts of the apparatus are very compactly associated so that they will occupy a relatively small amount of the deck space. Also by means of such a mechanism, the anchor 'means directly connected with said may be accurately and quickly cast or weighed and with a minimum of manual labor. I have above described a certain construction and mounting of the traveling carriage and the relatively movable parts 14 thereof, together with the anchor lifting mechanism, but it will be obvious that as to the several detail features of this construction, the same might be modified in numerous respects. Accordingly, in the further practical development of my invention, it is to be understood that the privilege is reserved of incorporating the same in all such legitimate alternative mechanical constructions as may be fairly embodied in the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

I claim:

1. Anchor casting and weighing mechanism including a horizontally traveling carriage, an anchor chain support and guiding means mounted upon the carriage for independent rectilinear movement in parallel relation to the line of travel of said carriage, and manually operable means connected with said carriage and with the anchor chain guide and supporting means for moving the same as a unit in one direction and also for moving said supporting means in the same direction relative to the carriage to project said guiding and supporting means beyond one end of the carriage.

2. Anchor casting and weighing mecha nism including a horizontally traveling carriage, an anchor chain support and guiding; means mounted upon the carriage for inde pendent rectilinear movement in parallel re lation to the line of travel. of said carriage, and manually operable means connected with said carriage and with the anchor chain guide and supporting means for moving the same as a unit in one direction and also for moving said supporting means in the same direction relative to the carriage to project said guiding and supporting means beyond one end of the carriage, said means being movable in the opposite direction on the carriage undrr the pull of the anchor chain in weighing the anchor, and means for automatically locking said guiding and supporting means to the carriage at the end of its movement in the latter direction whereby said means and the carriage are thereafter moved in the same direction as a unit under the continued pull of the anchor chain.

3. Anchor casting and weighing mechanism including a horizontally traveling carriage, anchor chain guiding and supporting means mounted on said carriage for independent movement in parallel relation to the line of travel of the carriage, manually operable carriage and with the guiding and supporting means to move the same in' one direction, means connecting the carriage and said. supporting means for initial unitary movement, means ltlE llzl

for automatically releasing said connecting means at the end of such initial movement of the carriage whereby in the continued operation of said manually operable means, said guiding and supporting means is independently moved and projected beyond one end of the carriage.

4. Anchor casting and weighing mechanism including a horizontally traveling carriage, anchor chain guiding and supporting means mounted upon said carriage for movement relative thereto in parallel relation to the line of travel of the carriage, means movable with the carriage for supporting the anchor in a substantially horizontal position on the deck of the vessel, means for lockingv the end of the anchor shaft to said guiding and supporting means, manually operable means connected with the carriage and said supporting and guiding means to move the same in one direction, means for connecting the supporting and guiding means with the carriage for unitary movement therewith during the travel of the carriage in said direction, means for releasing said connecting means whereby the guiding and supporting means is moved relative to the carriage in the continued operation of said manually operable means and projected beyond one end of the carriage, and means operable in such independent movement of the guiding and supporting means to rel-ease the anchor shaft locking means and permit of the gravity clescent of the anchor.

5. Anchor casting and weighing mechanism including a horizontally traveling carriage, anchor chain guiding and supporting means mounted upon said carriage for rectilinear movement relative thereto in parallel relation to the line of travel of the carriage, means movable with the carriage for supporting the anchor in a substantially horizontal position on the deck of the vessel, means for locking the end of the anchor shaft to said guiding and supporting means, manually operable means connected with the carriage and said supporting and guiding means to move the same in one direction, means for connecting the supporting and guiding means with the carriage for unitary movement therewith during the travel of the carriage in said direction, means for releasing said connecting means whereby the guiding and supporting means is moved relative to the carriage in the continued operation of said manually operable means and projected beyond one end of the carriage, means operable in such independentmovement of the guiding and supporting means to release the anchor shaft locking means, and additionai means operable in said independent movement of said anchor chain guiding means to move the anchor support relative to the carriage and the anchor and permit of the gravity descent of the anchor.

6. In anchor casting and weighing mechanism, a fixed guideway, a horizontally traveling carriage mounted in said guideway, an anchor chain guide mounted upon the carriage for rectilinear movement relative there to in the line of travel of said carriage, stop means for limiting the traveling movement of the carriage in each direction, manually operable means connected with the carriage and said chain guide for moving the same, means connecting the carriage and said guide means for movement as a unit, means for automatically releasing the connecting means whereby said guide means may be independently moved and projected beyond one end of the carriage, means for moving the anchor to and from a position in parallel relation to the carriage, and operating means for said latter means automatically actuated in the independent movements of the anchor chain guide relative to the carriage.

7. In anchor casting and weighing mechanism, a guideway adapted to be fixed upon the deck of a vessel, a carriage mounted to travel in said guideway and means for limiting the traveling movements of the carriage in each direction, parallel members, an anchor chain guide supported between said members, a shaft journalled in said members, gears on said shaft, racks on said carriage engaged by the respective gears, means movable relative to the carriage to engage the anchor and move the same to and from a horizontal position with respect to the carriage, means on said shaft operatively connected With said anchor moving means to actuate the latter in the movement of said members relative to the carriage, said members and the carriage being moved in one direction by the puli of the anchor chain in weighing the anchor, and a single manually operable means for moving said carriage and said members in the opposite direction,

8. In anchor casting and weighing mechanism, a guideway adapted to be fixed upon the deck of a vessel, a carriage mounted to travel in said guideway and means for limiting the traveling movements of the carriage in each direction, parallel members, an anchor chain guide supportedbetween said members, a shaft journalled in said members, gears on said shaft, racks on said carriage engaged by the respective gears, means movable relative to the carriage to engage the anchor and move the same to and from a horizontal position with respect to the carriage, means on said shaft operatively connected with said anchor moving means to actuate the latter in the movement of said members relative to the carriage, said members and the carriage being moved in one direction by the pull of the anchor chain in weighing the anchor, a single manually operable means for moving said carriage and said members in the opposite direction, a guard member pivotally connected with the anchor lifting means and having a part engaging the anchor shaft when the latter is moved to ahorizontal position on the deck of the vessel, and means automatically acting in the movements of said anchor liftin 7' means to maintain said guard member in su stantially parallel relation with said carriage.

9. In anchor casting and Weighing mechanism, anchor supporting means, means for mounting said supporting means on the deck of a vessel for horizontal travelling movement, means for releasably locking an anchor shaft to said supporting means including a locking member movably mounted upon the supporting means-to engage a part at one end of the anchor shaft, a movable latch member carried by the supporting means to engage the locking member and retain the same in locking position, and relatively stationary means to coact with said latch member and release the locking member at the end of the travelling movement of said supporting means to anchor casting position.

10. In anchor casting and weighing mechanism, anchor supporting means, means for mounting said supporting means on the deck of a vessel for horizontal travelling movement, means for releasably locking an anchor shaft to said supporting means including a rotatable locking member mounted upon the supporting means to engage a part at one end of the anchor shaft, a pivotally mounted latch member carried by the supporting means to engage the locking member and retain the same in locking position, and relatively stationary means to coact with said latch member and release the locking member at the end of the traveling movement of said supporting means to anchor casting position.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention, I have signed my name hereto.

FRANK SCHAUMAN. 

